The Power of One
by Nickel Angel
Summary: We all know Shepard's heroic tale, his bravery and skills that got him through some pretty damn tight situations; but what happens when he has neither? When a string of dumb luck and happenstance lands him into the position of saving the galaxy when all he can do is rely on the allies he makes?
1. Chapter 1

The two men were sitting by the large window, one watching the idle traffic of the late afternoon with little interest, lost in his thoughts, while the other mulled over a datapad with excruciating thoroughness, a third one standing behind them. They had spent most of the day searching for one perfect candidate, one ultimate representative of his race that would prove the Council humanity's value.

"William Shepard..." The first man put the datapad on the desk, cautiously tasting the sound of the name. "Earthborn, though I can't find any mention of his parents," he turned toward the other one.

"Doesn't have any," came the reply as the second man looked away from the window. "He grew up on the streets, survived as a gang member until he joined the military when he was old enough."

"A former gang member doesn't sound like a very promising option to me, Captain."

"He joined the Alliance to escape that life, Ambassador. And you can't deny he's proven himself on Akuze," the third man spoke.

"He lost his entire team in that freak accident. You would expect a man like him to suffer from severe psychological trauma." the man addressed as Ambassador replied.

"He's a survivor, the sheer fact that he made it out alive and was able to go on proves his worth," the Captain said with new determination.

"Are we sure that's the kind of person we want protecting the galaxy?"

"That's the only kind of person that can."

"I'll make the call," the Ambassador got up, the other two giving a tired sigh, relieved that they'd finally reached an agreement.

* * *

><p>"Arcturus Prime Relay is in range," the voice of the pilot resounded through the speakers, "Initiating transmission sequence."<p>

"Commander," a soldier nodded at the man hurrying down the hallway in acknowledgement. Walking with purposeful steps, the man made his way toward the spaceship's bow.

"We are connected. Calculating transit mass and destination," the announcement continued. "The relay is hot, acquiring approach vector. All stations secure for transit."

The Commander could see the bridge, and beyond it the shining blue core of the mass relay they were swiftly approaching. It was a sight worth climbing up to the bridge for; the still barely understood ancient, alien technology that allowed near instant travel across hundreds of lightyears, discovered by accident on Mars, then at the edge of the solar system.

"The board is green, approach run has begun," the pilot said as the spaceship was already close enough to the superstructure that it didn't fit in the viewport.

William Shepard stopped just behind the pilot's chair, taking in the sight. "Hitting relay in 3... 2... 1..."

The Commander grabbed the chair's edge instinctively as he braced for the jump. A lightning-like tendril of energy extended from the relay's core, reaching towards and enveloping the ship before launching it toward its destination much like a gun would shoot a bullet.

Not a second passed before the space around them changed, the planets and stars replaced by different ones signaling their safe arrival. Shepard exhaled briefly, chuckling at himself beratingly as he noticed his firm, tense grip on the chair's edge. He was feeling anxious.

"Thrusters... check, navigation... check," the pilot reported the ship's status. "Internal emissions sink engaged, all systems online. Drift.. just under 1500 K."

"1500 is good," an unfamiliar voice beside the Commander nearly frightened him into jumping away. It was a turian, a member of the very first alien race humanity had encountered. A Spectre working for the Citadel Council no less, his name was Nihlus and he had been assigned to watch over the operation. Shepard had to give it to him, the alien moved as silently as a cat. "Your captain will be pleased," he added, disregarding the Commander's attempt at hiding his fright as he turned around, leaving the bridge.

"I hate that guy," the pilot, Joker, grumbled.

"Nihlus gave you a compliment... so you hate him?" Kaidan, the man sitting in the co-pilot's seat raised his eyebrow questioningly.

"You remember to zip up your jumpsuit on the way out of the bathroom? That's good," Joker replied spitefully. "I just jumped us halfway across the galaxy and hit a target the size of a pinhead. So that's incredible! Besides, Spectres are trouble," he continuued, making a face. "I don't like having him onboard. Call me paranoid."

"You're paranoid," Kaidan said reproachfully. "The Council helped fund this project. They have a right to send someone to keep an eye on their investment."

"Yeah, that is the official story. But only an idiot believes the official story," Joker retorted.

"Always expecting the worst, aren't you?" Shepard asked jokingly, trying to ease the man's suspcicions even though he couldn't help giving the his words some degree of truth. They didn't send Spectres on shakedown runs, after all.

"Bad feelings are an occupational hazard, Commader. Spectres don't go anywhere without a good reason, so why is he here?"

Shepard had no time to give a reply as their superior's voice came in on the comm. "Joker! Status report!"

"Just cleared the mass relay, Captain. Stealth systems engaged. Everything looks solid," he said.

"Good. Find a comm buoy and link us into the network," the Captain sounded slightly anious. "I want mission reports relayed back to Alliance brass before we reach Eden Prime."

"Aye aye, Captain," kaidan started typing away on his keyboard as Joker gave him a small sign. "Better brace yourself, sir. I think Nihlus is headed your way."

"He's already here, Lieutenant," came the reply. Shepard couldn't help smiling at the pilot's awkward pause. "Tell Commander Shepard to meet me in the comm room for a debriefing."

"You get that, Commander?" Joker looked at Shepard briefly. The man was already hurrying down the corridor leading away from the bridge. "Is it me or does the Captain always sound a little pissed off?" he then asked, looking at Kaidan.

"Only when he's talking to you, Joker," the man replied.

The Combat Information Center seemed to have calmed down a bit since the jump, but Shepard could feel the anxiety in the atmosphere. He couldn't blame the crew for having doubts about the official mission parameters; he himself was feeling something big was left out from their briefing. As a soldier, he could appreciate the on-need-to-know-basis system of information distribution, but that did not help his growing restlessness.

"I'm telling you, I just saw him!" he heard the navigator's frustrated voice. "He marched by like he was on a mission." the Commander immediately deduced the man was talking about Nihlus.

"He's a Spectre. They're always on a mission," Chief Engineer Adams' jovial voice rang through the comm.

"And we're getting dragged right along with him!" came the reply, the frustration in its tone growing.

"Relax, Pressly. You're gonna give yourself an ulcer," Adams couldn't help but laugh at his friend's desperation. Pressly shut off the communicator, sighing

pitiably, regaining his composure as he noticed Shepard approach him. "Congratulations, Commander. Looks like we had a smooth run. You heading down to see the Captain?"

"I'm on my way to give him a status update right now," he said, ready to continue walking toward the comm room, his pace slowing down instead as Pressly continued.

"With all due respect, sir, maybe he'll finally tell you what we're really doing out here."

"Do you have a problem with him?" the Commander asked half jokingly.

"No, sir!" the navigator immediately protested. "But I can't figure out what he's doing here. Captain Anderson is one of the most decorated Special Forces officers in the service. If he melted down all his medals, he could make a life size statue of himself. You don't send a soldier like that on a do-nothing mission. He's treating this shakedown run too seriously. And then there's Nihlus," his expression darkened. "Spectres are elite operatives. Top covert agents. Why send a Spectre, a turian Spectre, on a shakedown run? It doesn't add up. Something big is going on."

"You don't trust Nihlus, I take it?" Shepard said cautiously. Some people didn't take well to their xenophobia being questioned however mild it may be.

"I don't like turians in general," the man shrugged, not giving the Commander's question a lot of significance. "Runs in my family. My grandfather fought in the First Contact War; lost a lot of friends when the turians hit us."

Shepard recalled what he knew about the war; the stories were not flattering about either side, depending on who you asked, but everyone agreed on the fact that it left deep scars on the human-turian alliance that would later form. Still, this very ship, a state-of-the-art masterpiece of technology, proved the two races' ability to cooperate, giving way to hope that the old scars would mend someday.

"That was thirty years ago," he said. "You can't blame Nihlus for that."

"No, I guess not," Pressly sighed. "But it still makes me nervous to have a Spectre onboard, especially a turian. We're an Alliance vessel, human military. But Nihlus doesn't answer to the Captain like the rest of us. Spectres operate outside the normal chain of command. And they don't come along just to observe shakedown runs. Nihlus looks like he's expecting some heavy action. I don't like it."

"I'll see if I can get some answers when I see him," Shepard patted the man on the shoulder comfortingly before turning away.

"Good luck, Commander," he heard the reply as he resumed his trek towards the communications room. He'd barely passed the holographic display of the galaxy map when another conversation drew his attention; Chakwas, the ship's doctor and Corporal Jenkins, the soldier who had greeted him only minutes before were having a chat in front of the elevator leading to the ship's other sections.

"I grew up on Eden Prime, Doc," Jenkins said exuberantly, obviously trying to prove something to the woman. "It's not the kind of place Spectres visit. There's

something Nihlus isn't telling us about this mission."

"That's crazy," the doctor laughed at the young soldier's enthusiastic arguments. "The Captain's in charge here. He wouldn't take orders from a Spectre."

"Not his choice, Doc," he crossed his arms, a triumphant smile plastered across his face. "Spectres don't answer to anyone. They can do whatever they want. Kill anyone who gets in their way."

"Ha! You watch too many spy vids, Jenkins," Chakwas said with a dismissing tone.

"What do you think, Commander?" he addressed the approaching Shepard, unsatisfied with the doctor's skepticism. "We won't be staying on Eden Prime too long, will we? I'm itching for some real action!"

"I sincerely hope you're kidding, Corporal. Your "real action" usually ends with me patching up crew members in the infirmary," the woman rolled her eyes.

"Easy, Corporal. A good soldier stays calm even under fire," Shepard managed, trying to pacify the two.

"Sorry, Commander," Jenkins looked away slightly embarrassed, scratching the back of his head. "But this waiting's killing me. I've never been on a mission like this before. Not one with a Spectre onboard!"

"Just treat this like every other assignment you've had and everything will work out," the Commander said reassuringly only to be cut off.

"Easy for you to say!" the young man exclaimed with renewed enthusiasm and a hint of jealousy in his voice. "You proved yourself on Akuze. Everybody knows what you can do. This is my big chance. I need to show the brass what I can do!"

"You're young, Corporal. You have a long career ahead of you. Don't do something stupid to mess it up," Shepard replied, wincing at the painful memory of his final mission as an N7 trainee.

"Don't worry, sir. I'm not gonna screw this up," Jenkins saluted. "Hey, Commander! You'd make a good Spectre!" he then changed the subject. "They're always getting dropped into impossible situations. Forced to survive unbeatable odds. Just like you on Akuze!"

"I... I try not to think of Akuze," Shepard looked away. "A lot of promising men had their careers cut short there. Permanently," he put special emphasis on that last word.

"Sorry, Commander," the young soldier looked ashamed. "I didn't mean to offend you. I respect what you did there. We all do." the Commander just nodded, mentally shaking away the unpleasant past.

"The Captain's waiting for me," he simply said as he walked away.

The comm room was just on the other end of the hallway; a circular room with chairs lining the larger part of the wall, three holographic projectors occupying the side of the room opposit from the entryway. The infamous turian Spectre was standing in front of one of these, just having ended a conversation with what Shepard assumed to be one of the Council members. He'd always thought turians looked like a mix of lizard and insect, he contemplated thinking of their scaly skin and mandibles. Maybe a bit bird-like too, as if they'd be a humanoid link between dinosaurs evolving into birds.

Turning around just as the man entered, as if knowing he had arrived, the turian addressed him without delay.

"Commander Shepard. I was hoping you'd get here first. It will give us a chance to talk," Nihlus said, straight to the point.

"What about?" Shepard blurted out before thinking of asking where the Captain was. The conversations on the way to the comm room built his anxiety up enough not to think very clearly now that the turian was talking to him.

"I'm interested in this world we're going to, Eden Prime. I've heard it's quite beautiful," Nihlus continued, seemingly unaware of the Commander's nervous expression.

"They say it's a paradise," he replied carefully, trying to figure out where the elite operative was going with his line of inquiry.

"Yes... a paradise." the alien seemed deep in thought, starting to pace around the room. "Serene. Tranquil. Safe. Eden Prime has become something of a symbol for your people, hasn't it? Proof that humanity can not only establish colonies across the galaxy, but also protect them. But how safe is it really?" he suddenly turned to face Shepard, finding him listening to him with a rigid posture, his eyes narrowing with a suspicious glimmer as he observed the Commander silently for a while.

"Are you trying to scare me, Spectre?" Shepard broke the silence, trying to sound just hostile enough to draw the turian's attention away from his tense demeanor.

"Your people are still newcomers, Shepard," Nihlus looked away snorting disapprovingly. "The galaxy can be a very dangerous place. Is the Alliance truly ready for this?"

"Ready for what?" Shepard wanted to ask just as Captain Anderson entered the room, drawing his attention away from the turian.

"I think it's about time we told the Commander what's really going on," the man said briefly. Nihlus sighed then nodded.

"This mission is far more than a simple shakedown run," he started.

"You don't say," Shepard interrupted him, doing all he could not to let out a laugh. "Most of the crew has figured that much out." Anderson allowed himself a chuckle.

"I chose the best of the best to serve under me for a reason," he said before resuming their explanation. "We're making a covert pickup on Eden Prime. That's why we used the excuse of testing out the experimental stealth system, we needed it operational."

"What's the payload, Captain?"

"This comes down from the top, Commander," Anderson's tone grew more serious. "Information strictly on a need-to-know basis. A research team on Eden Prime unearthed some kind of beacon during an excavation. It was Prothean."

"I thought the Protheans vanished fifty thousand years ago," Shepard raised an eyebrow. They didn't teach much history at the Villa, all he knew was that humanity owed its place in the galaxy to these long gone aliens. Fity thousand years gone, and their influence was still heavily felt in the modern world...

"Their legacy still remains," Nihlus voiced his very thoughts. "The mass relays, the Citadel, our ship drives, it's all based on Prothean technology."

"What else can you tell me?"

"This is big, Shepard," the Captain said. "The last time humanity made a discovery like this, it jumped our technology forward two hundred years. But Eden Prime doesn't have the facilities to handle something like this. We need to bring the beacon back to the Citadel for proper study."

"Obviously, this goes beyond mere human interests, Commander," the Spectre added. Shepard was starting to realize what this was all about. "This discovery could affect every species in Council space."

"I guess keeping the beacon for ourselves is out of the question," the Commander said, albeit not with much interest in whose hands the object ended up.

"You humans don't have the best reputation," Nihlus replied with mild disapproval. "Some species see you as selfish. Too unpredictable. Too independent. Even

dangerous," the turian's eyes narrowed, though his expression lightened up a bit after seeing Shepard wasn't serious about his remark.

"Sharing that beacon will improve relations with the Council," Anderson interjected. "Plus, we need their scientific expertise. They know more about the Protheans than we do."

"Well, it never hurts to have a few extra hands onboard," Shepard nodded at the Spectre with appreciation. His presence on the ship made far more sense now. The crew's fears seemed to be unfounded now, though the Commander doubted he'd be allowed to ease their minds about the entire mission being a pickup operation. "We're not expecting any trouble, are we?" he asked just to make sure.

"I'm always expecting trouble," came the brief reply. remembering his earlier conversation with Joker, Shepard joked to himself about there still being a chance of a friendship blooming between the pilot and the turian. "The beacon's not the only reason I'm here, Shepard," Nihlus then said, surprising him.

"Nihlus wants to see you in action, Commander. He's here to evaluate you," Captain Anderson added, a hint of pride oddly mixed with envy in his expression.

"What do you mean, Captain?" Shepard looked at the man with a confused look.

"You're smart enough to know how things work, Commander," Anderson replied. "The Alliance has been pushing for this for a long time. Humanity wants a larger role in shaping interstellar policy. We want more say with the Citadel Council. The Spectres represent the Council's power and authority. If they accept a human into their ranks," he eyed the Commander triumphantly, "it shows how far the Alliance has come."

"I... I'm hardly worthy of such a prestigious position, sir," Shepard said with hesitation after a brief moment of silence.

"Don't be modest, Commander," the Captain put his hand on the man's shoulder encouragingly. "We chose you out of a list of candidates put forward by various other Spectres who appreciate what humanity can give to the Council. Nihlus here was the one who suggested your name."

"You put my name forward?" Shepard asked, his mind still processing the news impeding him from doing anything more but repeat the information in form of questions. "Why would a turian want a human in the Spectres?" he managed lamely.

"Not all turians resent humanity," Nihlus looked at him, his expression slightly amused. "Some of us see the potential of your species. We see what you have to offer to the rest of the galaxy... and to the Spectres. We are an elite group. It's rare to find an individual with the skills we seek. I don't care that you're human, Shepard. I only care that you can do the job. And you... Not many could have survived what you went through on Akuze. You showed a remarkable will to live; a particularly useful talent."

"I assume this is good for the Alliance," the Commander said defeatedly, looking at Anderson.

"Earth needs this, Shepard," the man replied. "We're counting on you."

"I need to see your skills for myself, Commander," Nihlus started pacing around the room again. "Eden Prime will be the first of several missions together." Great, Shepard thought to himself, it wasn't enough that he fell ass backwards into the ranks of the N7, now they wanted to make a galactic special operative out of him. His train of thought was interrupted by the Captain starting to brief him about the mission.

"Eden Prime is a peaceful farming world, but it represents something much bigger. Eden Prime is one of our oldest and most successful colonies. It proved we were ready to face the challenges of settling new worlds, to forge a place for humanity beyond Earth. It symbolizes humanity's growth and evolution as a spacefaring species. And after this, it will be known as the world where humans made a discovery of galactic importance. You'll be in charge of the ground team. Secure the beacon and get it into the ship asap. Nihlus will accompany you to observe the mission."

"Why is this beacon so important?" Shepard asked. He was starting to imagine something huge and, possibly, even dangerous.

"All advanced galactic civilization is based on Prothean technology. Even yours," Nihlus repeated his earlier statement.

"If we hadn't discovered those Prothean ruins buried on Mars, we'd still be stuck on Earth," Captain Anderson nodded. "That was just a small data cache. Who knows what we can learn from this beacon? What if it's a weapons archive? We can't let it fall into the wrong hands."

"Like who" the Commader continued his inquiries, wanting to build a more or less complete mental image o the possible threats.

"The Attican Traverse isn't the most stable sector of Citadel space," Anderson replied hesitantly. "There are plenty of raiders and criminal groups active in the region. They might figure a Prothean beacon is worth the risk of attacking an Alliance ship. Plus, Eden Prime is right on the border of the Terminus Systems."

"The Attican Traverse is under Citadel protection. If the Terminus Systems attack, it's an act of war," Shepard then said, crossing his arms. Maybe this mission would turn out as dangerous as everyone eared, after all. He didn't like what he was hearing.

"Technically, yes," Nihlus said carefully. "But some of the species in the Terminus might be willing to start a war over this."

"The last thing the Council wants is to get dragged into a major conflict with the Terminus Systems. We have to keep this low-key," Anderson stressed the last point.

"Just give the word, Captain," the Commander sighed.

"Good. We should be getting close to Eden..." the Captain started, only to be interrupted by Joker's voice.

"Captain! We've got a problem." he seemed agitated.

"What's wrong, Joker?" Anderson's reply was brief.

"Transmission from Eden Prime, sir," the pilot said, hesitating for a moment. "Sir... you better see this."

"Bring it up onscreen," the Captain ordered, one of the holo-projectors activating not a moment later. It seemed to be a first person perspective recording from a soldier's combat suit; assault rifle jerking left and right firing in concentrated bursts at enemies too out of focus to discern their appearance, just before hitting the ground. The helmet of another soldier came into view, briefly confirming the death of the soldier before turning toward her remaining companions.

"Get down!" she shouted, firing another burst as she ducked into cover off screen. In that moment, something appeared on the sky. Shepard watched with eyes open wide with disbelief. What was for all intents and purposes an impossibly enormous spaceship making touchdown looked to him like a gigantic metal hand reaching down from the sky before the camera was knocked out.

"We are under attack! Taking heavy casualties, I repeat, heavy casualties!" another officer practically screamed into his comm, the desperation in his voice clearly audible. "We can't... argh!..."

"-eed evac! They came out of nowhere! We need-"

"Everything cuts out after that," Joker then said. "No comm traffic at all. Just goes dead. There's nothing."

"Reverse and hold at thirty-eight point five," Captain Anderson ordered, watching the screen intently. The three men stared at the image of the large vessel descending in silence for a few moments. None of them had any idea what they were dealing with, Shepard judged from the Captain and Spectre's troubled looks. "Status report," Anderson then said, breaking the heavy silence.

"Seventeen minutes out, Captain. No other Alliance ships in the area," the pilot responded.

"Take us in, Joker. Fast and quiet," Anderson ordered, marching out of the room, the other two on his heels. "This mission just got a lot more complicated."

"A small strike team can move quickly without drawing attention," Nihlus suggested. "It's our best chance to secure the beacon." The Captain nodded as he turned to Shepard.

"Grab your gear and meet us in the cargo hold. Tell Alenko and Jenkins to suit up, Commander. You're going in," he said grimly before hurrying away.

Shepard had a bad feeling about the mission. He felt he wasn't ready for what was about to come.


	2. Chapter 2

"Engaging stealth systems," Joker's voice announced as the five men waited impatiently in the cargo hold. Only a few minutes had passed since the briefing but the team was already tense, waiting in a strained silence. "Somebody was doing some serious digging here, Captain," the pilot reported.

"Your team's the muscle in this operation, Commander," Anderson broke the following silence. "Go in heavy and head straight for the dig site."

"What about survivors, Captain?" Kaidan Alenko asked, clearly unsettled by the Captain's dire tone.

"Helping survivors is a secondary objective. The beacon's your top priority," came the reply, though Shepard could tell these words left a sour taste in the man's mouth. Just how important was this beacon still hadn't started dawning on him.

"Approaching drop point one," Joker's voice made itself heard once more as the cargo hold's hatch slowly started opening. Looking out, the Commander saw the setting sun of the planet paint the landscape an unpleasant red hue. It may have been a beautiful sight under different circumstances, but now it was downright foreboding.

"Nihlus? You're not coming with us?" Corporal Jenkins asked as he watched the turian get ready to jump onto the ground a few feet below.

"I move faster on my own," the Spectre simply said before leaping off the hatch.

"Nihlus will scout out ahead. He'll feed you status reports throughout the mission; otherwise, I want radio silence," Anderson said, his voice raised to out-yell the loud winds as the ship ascended again.

"We've got his back, Captain," Shepard nodded before putting his helmet on, the other two men following his example and readying their assault rifles. The Commander trained his sights on a passing rock formation, his aim slightly trembling as his hands were shaking with anticipation.

"We are approaching drop point two," Joker announced yet again, the ship shortly descending over a small plateau nearby what seemed to be smoking buildings in the valley below. Hovering just a couple of feet above ground level, the ship was already far away a few seconds after the team of three jumped onto the solid earth.

"This place got hit hard, Commander," Nihlus reported briefly, his words confirmed by the blackened buildings the men were looking upon with growing restlessness. "Hostiles everywhere. Keep your guard up," the turian added before silence settled around them, aside from the docile chittering of a creature somewhere nearby.

"Smells like smoke and death," Alenko said, carefully advancing toward the cliff's edge. "Eden Prime will never be the same again." He shook his head before adding, "We should move, Commander."

Nodding in response, Shepard took point hurrying towards what seemed to be a path through some trees and boulders. The surroundings looked well suited to offer ample cover during a firefight, the Commander noted before noticing the three corpses strewn around a small pond at the base of some rocks. They looked like they burned to death, scorch marks blackening the ground around them.

"Oh God. What happened here?" Jenkins asked, his voice cracking, but no reply came. Shepard simply signaled him and Alenko to move past the gruesome scene, carefully moving through the boulders. Once more a tense silence surrounded them as they advanced cautiously, a sudden chirp behind them making them turn around, the Commander immediately aiming at the source.

Whatever the creature was, it looked like a greenish amphibian or lizard-like thing with a bloated orange-transparent organ growing out of its back keeping it afloat as it gently flapped its way past them with flat, fan-like feet. Five red eyes looked at them lazily, disregarding the humans almost immediately.

"What the hell is that?" Alenko asked, staring at the animal and letting out a relieved sigh. Shepard lowered his weapon.

"Gas bags," said Jenkins. "Don't worry, they're harmless."

Not a moment later, automatic gunfire resounded throughout the silent landscape, the three soldiers instinctively ducking behind the large rocks dotting the area. The gas bag was not so fortunate, a stray bullet puncturing it, causing it to explode in a cloud of brownish mist, enveloping Alenko who was unfortunately close to the creature.

"Return fire!" the Commander shouted, peeking out from behind the boulder and a short burst when he saw the drones. There were three, flying around just in front of the trees the pathway was leading towards, searching for their targets. Shepard didn't recognize their make.

In spite of the initial surprise, the machines didn't put up much of a fight, quickly blown out of the sky. Only after waiting for a few seconds to make sure there were no more threats did Shepard notice only Jenkins returned fire alongside him; Alenko was lying against a boulder, completely unmoving.

"Damn it!" the Commander swore, running over to the man. "Kaidan!" he called out his name as he took the helmet off, quickly checking if he was still breathing.

"He's just unconscious," he exhaled with relief as Jenkins hurried over. "That explosion wasn't powerful enough to knock someone out, but I can't see any wounds," he then said.

"That's the gases that keep the gas bags afloat, they're toxic," Jenkins said nervously. When he said the animals were harmless he clearly hadn't considered sudden death via gunfire. "Not fatal," he added hurriedly as he saw the Commander's worried expression. "But he won't come to in a while, I'm afraid." Shepard swore again.

"We can't just leave him here!" he said as he tried to lift the man up, although with little success.

"Commander, we have to go!" Jenkins urged him. "We need to get to the beacon!"

"Fine," Shepard groaned. "At least help me drag him into better cover. I don't want anything stumbling across him."

The two men carried the unconscious soldier behind a more inconspicuous rock formation near the pond, laying him on the ground carefully and leaving his weapon beside him before carrying on. Guilt ate away at Commander Shepard; he didn't want to leave the man behind. He never again wanted to leave anyone else behind, but he couldn't disobey the Captain's orders. Thinking back to how he escaped the mess on Akuze bitterly, he took point again as he and Jenkins advanced towards the clearing behind the trees.

"I've got some burned out buildings here, Shepard," Nihlus came in on the radio. "A lot of bodies. I'm gonna check it out. I'll try to catch up with you at the dig site."

The path seemed to lead into a valley, the boulders so characteristic to this area making it easy for anything hostile ambushing them from cover. At the end of the valley they could see the excavation site clearly, though they did not trust the seemingly safe pathway leading towards it.

Just as the two soldiers were ready to dash to the next relatively well covered place, ready to return fire swiftly in case anything attacked them, gunfire drew their attention away. Another soldier was running away from the dig site, to drones hot on her trail firing as they chased her. Knocked on the ground as her armor's kinetic barrier stopped a round of bullets, she quickly turned around shooting her pistol at the machines with surprising accuracy, downing them instantly.

Getting up on her feet without hesitation, she froze on the spot as she noticed something. Shepard and Jenkins followed her gaze, noticing two humanoid, metallic shapes drag a farmer towards and laying him on a tripod of sorts. The man was struggling powerlessly against the firm hold of his captors before a spike shooting out of the tripod impaled him through his lower back and stomach, ending his life.

Noticing the soldier, the two mechanical humanoids opened fire. Regaining her senses she ducked behind a boulder, readying her assault rifle. This seemed like a good moment for the two men to rush to her side guns blazing, drawing her assailants' attention away for a brief moment, giving her the opportunity to down one of them with a concentrated burst of gunfire.

Taking cover, Shepard and Jenkins waited for their weapons to cool down, the Commander signaled the woman to stay under cover herself as he readied a grenade, throwing it at the machine shortly after. A loud explosion later, rifles at the ready, he peeked out from behind the rock, then approached the soldier after making sure there were no more threats.

"Thanks for your help, Commander. I didn't think I was gonna make it," she said, taking her helmet off, revealing a young but tired face, brown eyes looking straight at the Commander confidently, dark hair gathered in a tight bun at the back of her head. "Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams of the 212. You the one in charge here, sir?" she asked.

"Are you wounded, Williams?" Shepard said after nodding, Jenkins scouring the area looking out in case something else attacked.

"A few scrapes and burns," Williams replied briefly. "Nothing serious. The others weren't so lucky. Oh man..." she looked away as she started giving her report. "We were patrolling the perimeter when the attack hit. We tried to get off a distress call, but they cut off our communications. I've been fighting for my life ever since."

"Where's the rest of your squad?" Shepard asked.

"We tried to double back to the beacon," she said, the look in her eyes telling Shepard the situation won't be a happy one. "But we walked into an ambush. I don't think any of the others... I think I'm the only one left," the woman said with a pained expression. Flashes of his own unpleasant memories lighted up in Shepard's mind.

"This isn't your fault, Williams," he put a comforting hand on her shoulder. No one deserved going through what he did in that accursed mission. "You couldn't have done anything to save them."

"Yes, sir," she nodded before continuing. "We held our position as long as we could. Until the geth overwhelmed us."

"The geth haven't been seen outside the Veil in nearly two hundred years. Why are they here now?" Jenkins asked as he returned.

"They must have come for the beacon," Williams replied. She pointed towards the end of the valley. "The dig site is close. Just over that rise. It might still be there."

"What can you tell me about the beacon?" the Commander continued his inquiry.

"They were doing some digging out here to extend the monorail and expand the colony," the woman explained. "A few weeks ago they unearthed some Prothean ruins... and the beacon. Suddenly every scientific expert in the colony was interested. That's when they brought us in to secure the site. I don't know much about the beacon itself, but I heard one of the researchers say this could be the biggest scientific discovery of the century."

"What happened to the researchers at the dig site?" came another question, Shepard growing wearier of this beacon with every conversation about it.

"I don't know. They set up camp near the beacon. The 232 was with them. Maybe their unit fared better than mine." Shepard sighed. There seemed to be no chance to stumble upon someone to send back to check on Kaidan. Deciding to start moving again, he made the soldier an offer.

"We could use your help, Williams."

"Aye aye, sir. It's time for payback," she replied readying her weapon.

"Welcome aboard," the Commander said simply. "Jenkins, we're moving out!"

Geth. Shepard didn't know a lot about them; a race of synthetic lifeforms created by another alien race, the quarians. Limited AI programming meant to supply cheap labor turned out not to be so limited, ending in a mass exile of the quarians as they were driven away from their own home planet. The geth never ventured past the Perseus Veil though, and communicating with, or even observing them proved futile. They were the last thing Shepard expected to show up.

These thoughts clouding his mind, he led the other two through the trench Williams previously escaped from, nothing obstructing their way until they were nearly in front of the excavation site. Carefully darting from cover to cover, the Commander narrowly escaped gunfire aimed at him, firing back as he noticed a geth soldier duck back behind a boulder. Swearing as he missed, he ordered the other two to take cover as well, waiting for the machine to fire again.

As soon as a round of bullets flew by above his head, he peeked out of cover ready to shoot, only to find himself facing two others approaching them, escaping another round of fire by rolling behind another nearby rock, giving Williams and Jenkins the chance to gun the two synthetics down. Falling to bits as they were terminated, Shepard used the smoke fizzling out of their remains to circle around the third geth, pulling the trigger and letting out a burst of constant fire into it at point blank before it collapsed.

"Damn!" he shouted, nearly dropping his weapon as it overheated in his hand, the rifle stopping even though his finger was still on the trigger. That was careless, he thought to himself, berating his overzealous charge as the weapon slowly cooled down. He only noticed the downed geth upper body move when it trained its sights on him.

Instinct taking over as he jumped back, narrowly avoiding a bullet to the face. He pulled the trigger again, but nothing happened; it took a second for him to realize the rifle had locked up from overheating, panic settling in as he fumbled for his pistol awkwardly. Thankfully he didn't need it as Williams shot the thing's head ending it.

"I owe you one, Chief," Shepard said gratefully, looking around with a thorough glance to make sure nothing else would jump them.

"Consider us even, Commander," Williams gave a mischievous salute, smiling with the corner of her mouth before looking around as well. "This is the dig site. The beacon was right here, it must have been moved," she then said, a troubled look spreading on her face.

"By who? Our side? Or the geth?" Jenkins asked hurrying to their side after making sure the other two geth were permanently disabled as well.

"Hard to say," Williams shook her head. "Maybe we'll know more after we check out the research camp.

If anyone got lucky ad got out of this alive, they might be hiding up in the camp. It's just on the top of this ridge. Up the ramps."

"The camp it is then," Shepard nodded, starting to make his way up, the other two following him. His communicator came to life as they advanced carefully.

"Change of plans, Shepard," Nihlus' voice made itself heard. "There's a small spaceport up ahead. I want to check it out. I'll wait for you there."

Not even a hundred feet of ascending later, a grim scene unfolded before them. A few housing units were neatly organized in the clearing and slightly downhill from where they stood, half of them blown up or scorched by a fire that was still assaulting them persistently, three more of the geth tripods barring their way, their victims twitching awkwardly.

"Oh, god! They're still alive!" Jenkins exclaimed, looking at the moving bodies with horror. Shepard squinted, observing the things more carefully. Their clothes and even their skin seemed to had burned off, synthetic fibers and cables replacing the muscles and a dull grey metal replacing the bone. He shuddered as he looked at the inhumane faces.

"What did the geth do to them?" Williams asked, equally upset by the sight.

As if on a cue, the spikes lowered, letting the three bodies lay awkwardly before they shuffled onto their feet unsteadily, standing around idly for a bit. Commander Shepard decided he wouldn't wait for them to notice their presence, quickly tossing a grenade between them.

The explosion shredded two of the creatures and tossed the third one aside. The other two had no time to question Shepard's decision to attack as it got up and darted towards them with surprising speed, producing sharp claws with which it intended to attack them.

Jenkins' reflexes kicked in and he gunned the thing down just as it was nearly upon them. As it fell, it exploded with electric-looking energy, knocking their kinetic shields out. Luckily, there were no more threats round them as they watched the downed creature with stupefaction.

"Now we know what those spikes are for, turning our own dead against us," Jenkins shuddered.

"It must take a few hours for those spikes to turn people into those... those husks," Williams pondered, looking around. Her eyes darted to one of the housing units as she saw movement on the other side of the window. She walked closer to the door, checking its lock. "It's closed. Security lock's engaged, she said. "I think I saw someone inside," she added as she saw Shepard's questioning look.

Shepard walked over to her as Jenkins watched their back, looking at the electronic lock intently trying to figure it out. "Damn," he said out loud, not daring to make an attempt at hacking it. "Alenko had some tech expertise that'd be useful right about now," he sighed.

"Alenko?" Williams asked.

"Kaidan, our third man," Shepard said, taking a few steps back and urging her to do the same. "He got injured, we had to leave him behind," he explained, aiming at the lock with his pistol.

"What?" the woman exclaimed, anger flashing in her eyes. "You left an injured soldier behind alone in hostile territory?"

"It's not like I like it!" Shepard retorted. "My orders are to get to the beacon as fest as I can and not let the enemy have it," he grumbled, pulling the trigger. A frightened shriek resounded from inside at the sound of the gunshot. "It's alright!" he then said as the door opened. "We're human, it's safe to come out."

"Humans! Thank the maker!" a woman showed up in the doorway, visibly shaken.

"Hurry! Close the door! Before they come back!" the rambling voice of a man could be heard from the inside.

"Don't worry. We'll protect you," Shepard said encouragingly.

"Thank you, I think we'll be okay now. It looks like everyone's gone," the woman looked around.

"You're Doctor Warren, the one in charge of the excavation," Williams said, recognizing her. "Do you know what happened to the beacon?" she shot Shepard a venomous look.

"It was moved to the spaceport this morning," Warren replied. "Manuel and I stayed behind to help pack up the camp. I was in charge of this excavation. We hid in the shed during the attack. They must have come for the beacon. Luckily, it wasn't here."

"How did you end up in this shed?" Jenkins asked approaching them, Williams turning around to scout the perimeter.

"When the attack came, the marines held them off long enough for us to hide," the woman said, shuddering at the recent, gruesome memory. "They gave their lives to save us."

"No one is saved," the man Shepard assumed was Manuel said, his voice slightly deranged. "The age of humanity is ended. Soon, only ruin and corpses will remain."

"What's wrong with your assistant?" the Commander asked, watching the man shuffle out of view with a distrutrstful look.

"Manuel has a brilliant mind, but he's always been a bit... unstable," the doctor sighed. "Genius and madness are two sides of the same coin."

"Is it madness to see the future? To see the destruction rushing towards us? To understand there is no escape? No hope?" Manuel kept rambling, nearly shrieking with a mix of fear and anger in his voice, before it grew to a whisper. "No, I am not mad. I'm the only sane one left!"

"I gave him an extra dose of his meds after the attack," Warren shook her head, a sour smile creeping on her lips.

"What else can you tell us about the attack?" Jenkins asked.

"Maker, it all happened so fast. One second we were gathering up our equipment. The next, we were hiding in the shed while the geth swarmed over the camp," the woman said.

"Agents of the destroyers! Bringers of darkness! Heralds of our extinction!" they heard Manuel's unsettling lament.

"We could hear the battle outside," Warren continued. "Gunfire. Screams. I thought it would never end. Then, everything went quiet. We just sat there, too afraid to move. Until you came along."

"Tell them about the turian! The prophet. Leader of the enemy. He was here, before the attack," her assistant rambled on.

"That's impossible," Jenkins said. "Nihlus was with us on the Normandy before the attack. He couldn't have been here."

"If there's another turian around here allied with the geth, we need to warn Nihlus," Shepard's expression darkened. "Doctor Warren, there's a soldier hiding by the pond up the path from the excavation site, he got intoxicated because of a gas bag. We've secured the area behind us, do you think you could help him?"

"I know the place," the woman nodded. "I'll see what I can do."

"Williams, take us to the spaceport!" the Commander nodded in appreciation before turning around, hurrying away.

"You can't stop it. Nobody can stop it. Night is falling, the darkness of eternity..." they heard Manuel's desperate voice as they made their way downhill.

"The Commander really didn't want to abandon Kaidan, Chef Williams," Jenkins said as they advanced, careful to be outside of Shepard's earshot. "I had to convince him to leave him there, and he still insisted we hide him and make sure the area is safe." Williams shook her head with slight embarrassment.

"I'll apologize for my outburst later," she said, shaking it off. "We have a mission to complete now."

* * *

><p>The enormous ship overlooked the small spaceport, casting an ominous shadow over it but otherwise staying completely inert. Something that large shouldn't be able to touch down as gently as it did, or at least gently relatively to its size, the turian pondered. Not unless it had an enormous mass effect drive. Though, looking at its size, that theory wasn't completely out of the question.<p>

Nihlus felt uneasy. Something was off with the atmosphere around the spaceport and he just couldn't put his finer on what exactly unsettled him. He'd already disabled the transforming bodies of the geth spikes' victims nearby; there was nothing he could do for them except end their misery before they could harm anyone. Still, even with no enemy in sight, he had a really bad feeling about the geth's presence.

Then he saw a shadow move around the corner of a large metal crate. Readying his weapon, he swiftly approached it, making no noise as he jumped out behind the figure casting the shadow, pistol aimed steadily at its head.

"Saren?" He asked, his eyes widening as he recognized the turian, lowering his weapon. That man had been his teacher for many years, preparing him for the rigors a Spectre would have to endure just like his duty to take care of Shepard was now.

"Nihlus." The other said simply as he turned around, not looking too surprised to see his former protegé.

"This isn't your mission, Saren. What are you doing here?" Nihlus inquired, looking around with a critical eye just to be on the safe side.

"The Council thought you could use some help with this one," his fellow Spectre replied. "I was to be the backup in case the human you are baby-sitting screwed up."

"I guess we're going to need the help anyway," Nihlus shook his head, disapproving of his former mentor's tone. Saren said "human" almost as if afraid the word would poison him.

He turned around, looking at the large spaceship again. Five large leg-like appendages supported the main hull of the thing. It looked eerily like an overgrown metal crustacean.

"I wasn't expecting to find the geth here. The situation's bad," he then said, unaware of Saren's movement behind him.

"Don't worry. I've got it under control," came the reply as the turian pointed his gun at his unwitting former student.

"Nihlus! Watch out!" Shepard's voice made itself heard just before Saren pulled the trigger, the solitary gunshot resounding throughout the valley as if time slowed down.


End file.
